User blog:Ailavyn Siniyash/Holt of Pearls
This will be my second fan fiction and has absolutely nothing to do with Noonvale. I probably won't be updating it much until I finish that first story anyways, but you never know. For you impatient people, here's a summary: Holt Lutra has been abandoned for countless seasons now, deserted. But nobeast knows that along with the Pearls, the holt also guarded something else: the spark that keeps light, the spark of day. It has burned since the holt was destroyed, but now, finally, this secret source of all light is being threatened. For a warlord wants to bring night for all eternity! The only way to stop him is for descendants of the original holt-members to leave their homes and resettle Holt Lutra to guard the spark. For the Holt of Pearls is more important than anybeast ever imagined... =Holt of Pearls= Here lies the story of a holt ''Of its later, ravaged years. ''The first of it has before been told, ''The tale of the Oceans’ Tears. ''The second part rests still unsaid, ''A secret not yet sung, ''A tale of hope and fear and dread, ''And the spark from which light comes. ''Oh, yes, the Holt of Lutra good, ''The Holt of Pearls to some, ''Its fate bound ever to Mossflower Woods, ''And lands so far beyond. Prologue ''Grath'' Outside Ruddaring Grath Longfletch sat on a rocky spur outside of her home, Holt Rudderwake. She was alone. The waves crashed against the outer cliff-like walls of the hollow island Ruddaring, a noisy, clapping sound, their dull roar always present in her ears. Inbar was inside the island, practicing his archery. She was glad he understood her need for solitude sometimes, on days like today. She had found herself a new family at the Holt, but her memories sometimes surged out at unexpected times, overwhelming her with sorrow for all her friends, all her family, who had died by the paw of Ublaz Mad Eyes, when he raided the Holt of Pearls for the Tears of all Oceans. Thank the seasons he didn’t find the Spark, she thought. I wonder if he knew it existed? “Impossible,” she said aloud, contradicting herself. “Only the Keepers knew of it.” Suddenly, she realised what she was saying. “''I am the last Keeper.'' How could I have forgotten? I’m supposed to be guarding it! Oh, but I can’t leave Rudderwake!” She sighed, coming finally to a decision. “No one must find out about the Spark. No... wait. Since it’s a hereditary job, perhaps one of my descendants will... I shall write it in secret somewhere. If it is their fate to find it, then find it they will." Book One: Summons Chapter One ''Aemith'' Holt Rudderwake Aemith nocked the arrow, aimed, and let fly. Just like the last five times, it went wide, not even landing anywhere near its intended target. She ground her teeth together angrily as she went to pick it up, her yewwood bow dangling from one paw. What was wrong with her today? She had only hit the ripe melon that was her target once out of twenty times so far, and it really wasn't that far away, just about ten paces. Maybe it was the slight breeze that was ruffling her dark, chocolate brown fur; she never shot well in wind. But the breeze was so small it seemed inconsequential, so she just shrugged as she pulled her blue-and-green fletched arrow out of the ground and put it in her quiver with the others. "Enough for today," she decided. "I'd best help out with lunch." As far as she knew, the entire population of Holt Rudderwake, about a score and a half of otters and a squirrel, had decided that morning to have a spontaneous picnic feast at noon, and having nothing else to do, most of the Holt was helping out. She jogged over to the main cave, her bow and quiver jostling against each other as she ran. "Hi, Ae!" Aemith halted and turned around to see a pretty ottermaid with light-brown fur sitting on a tree stump, braiding a circlet of lavender and cream colored flowers for her head. Her cousin and best friend, Kelinat, or Kel for short. Ae, as Aemith was sometimes called, was several seasons her cousin's senior, but not nearly as pretty. "Hi, Kel! You going to help out with lunch?" Kel smiled secretly. "I'm helping in my own way. Care to join me?" "Maybe," answered Ae warily, very well acquainted with her friend's mischief-making skills. "It depends on what you're up to." "Oh, nothing terrible, if that's what you're wonderin'." Kel then made her voice as innocent and sugary as possible, but gave a wicked smile to counteract the effect. "I would never even think of being anybeast but my calm, sweet self, who never gets into trouble." "What is it, then?" asked Aemith, curious despite herself. "Shhh... You have to promise not to tell anyone. It's a surprise, you see!" "Okay, okay," said her cousin impatiently, "I promise." "Good. You see," Kel continued confidentially, "I'm going to sing the opening song at our little feast today! Only your father knows, but that's because he's our Skipper, so I had to tell him. I was hoping you'd come by; I do love singing with you! But if you want to join me, you have to make yourself a circlet while we practice too!" She looked at Ae calculatingly. "Hmmm... I think light blue and white would suit you... Come on, let's go find flowers!" She dragged her friend off without waiting for an answer... :::::::::::::~:::~ Aemith and Kelinat stood together on a large, smooth boulder, in front of the entire Holt. The same light breeze that had ruffled Ae's fur earlier was now blowing harder from behind them, all the better to carry their voices to the otters and squirrel arrayed before them. Ae's blue tunic billowed out against her will, causing her swat at it with one of her paws, though her cousin's light purple dress stayed flat. They both had their circlets of flowers atop their heads, light blue and white for Ae and lavender and cream for Kel. The former took her younger friend's paw in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. They often sang together, but this was their first time in front of a large crowd, and they were both very nervous, though neither wanted to admit it. Kel squeezed back, their signal to begin. This song was a song dear to their hearts, one of the first they'd ever learned, but one of the most beautiful as well. Nobeast knew for certain where it was from, but some of the more knowledgeable holt-members thought that the long-ago otter Grath Longfletch, known to the friends as a distant ancestor, had introduced it to the Holt, and it was originally from her former home, Holt Lutra. Wherever it came from, it seemed even more beautiful than ever as it echoed off the walls of Ruddaring, the ottermaids' voices melding harmoniously as they sang. The sun that is shining, High up in the sky, Oh, where may I find you, O true love of mine? The stars twinkling brightly, The sun and the moon, In one Spark they are found, From midnight to noon. The Spark that is burning, The Spark of the day, If it ever blows out, Light will hide away. The stars that are shining, The sun and the moon, Bring light to us always, From midnight to noon. Before anybeast could erupt into well-deserved applause, the cousins had curtsied and scampered off the boulder, having finally noticed their stage-fright. Kel practically landed on Evel, Ae's father and Skipper of the Holt, as she made a final jump o the ground, but luckily he saw her coming and ducked away just in time. "Hi, Father! How terrible was it?" asked Ae cheerfully. Chapter Two ''Erlahn'' Greenrock Cave, near Castle Floret Erlahn slumped against the wall, exhausted and injured. He had failed. They had failed. The Squirrelking and Queen and their heirs were dead, and Erlahn and three others were all that remained of the otterguard of Castle Floret, the once-proud home of the royal family of Southsward. There were only four who'd escaped from the terrible slaughter at the paws of Emberlight the Nightmare and her horde. Emberlight the Nightmare, the black fox of the southwest, her eerie orange eyes glowing bright in the darkness, her dark cloak swirling about her, an aura of ill-wishing surrounding her. This was who had ruined his life, and he was going to have his revenge on her, no matter the cost... But not now. Now, he had to rest and heal in the safe sanctuary of Greenrock Cave, which Emberlight did not know of, for the abovewater entrance was hidden and blocked by a clump of gorse and several boulders and the underwater one was well below the surface, and foxes, ferrets, and cats were not known for being fond of water. The cave was so named for the walls and floor that were veined and marbled with deep green jade, the color of pine and moss. The one problem with this secret hideaway was that there was no food to be found in it, so they would have to leave eventually and expose themselves to potential capture. Erlahn looked over at his friends Felyni and Aural, and their mother Ganla. They were all sleeping, except Ganla, who turned towards him. "Go to sleep, Erlahn. You need it after today. I'll keep watch. Don't worry, everything will be alright." "Mmmmkay..." he mumbled, slipping into an exhausted slumber, his dreams far from peaceful. :::::::::::::~:::~ When he woke, light was seeping into the cave by way of cracks and openings too small for even the tiniest creature to see, let alone get through, and the siblings Felyni and Aural were already up and in the midst of one of the fierce brother-and-sister arguments that were typical of them, though this one was taking place in hushed voices so as not to wake their mother. "Greenrock Cave hasn't got food, and the stream which flows past it hasn't got anything edible in it, and either way, we haven't got any firewood, as I already said." Aural was the elder sibling and took after her mother; she planned everything she said or did before it happened, and whenever she was worried, she organized anything she could, to as close to perfection as she could, then found fault and started the whole business over again, which irritated her younger brother to no end. He was more of an act first, think later type, and it was something of a miracle that he had survived the battle. Erlahn remembered ruefully having had to drag his unconscious friend into the cave and tie him down, to prevent him from going out after Emberlight's horde. There had been more than a hint of red in his eyes before they knocked him out, and Erlahn suspected that the headache the large bump on his head had given him was making him even more irritable than usual. "Well then let's go out find some!" exclaimed Felyni, sounding exasperated. Aural sighed, "As I also already said, it is very likely that there are sentries and patrols searching for any survivors, and we do not want to give either ourselves or our hiding place away." "Do you want to starve?" "Well no..." "Come on then!" Felyni rushed towards the underwater tunnel near where Erlahn was sitting and paused when he noticed his friend watching him. "Oh, you're finally awake! Do agree that we should go get food, or should we stay in here and starve like Aural says?" "I never!" "Why don't you ask Ganla her opinion? With all the noise you've been making, she sure to be awake by now." Aural clapped a paw over her mouth, astonished at her lack of control. She belatedly realized that they had indeed been yelling and looked guiltily at her mother and Erlahn. "Oops." List of Important Characters in Order of Appearance '''''Note: I apologize for the lack of accents, but they are just really hard for me, and if I ever do do them, they turn out terribly. Aemith (Ae) *''Pronunciation: Long A then myth *''Gender: Female *''Species: Otter *''Place of Origin: Holt Rudderwake *''Relation to Grath: Direct Descendant Kelinat (Kel) *''Pronunciation: Kelly then the Nat from Natalie *''Gender: Female *''Species: Otter *''Place of Origin: Holt Rudderwake *''Relation to Grath: Direct Descendant Erlahn *''Pronunciation: Air then lawn *''Gender: Male *''Species: Otter *''Place of Origin: Southsward (Castle Floret) *''Relation to Grath: Descendant of Distant Cousin Emberlight the Nightmare *''Pronunciation: It's obvious *''Gender: Female *''Species: Fox *''Place of Origin: The Southwest *''Relation to Grath: None Felyni *''Pronunciation: Felony with an I sound instead of the O *''Gender: Male *''Species: Otter *''Place of Origin: Southsward (Castle Floret) *''Relation to Grath: None Aural *''Pronunciation: Exactly how it looks *''Gender: Female *''Species: Otter *''Place of Origin: Southsward (Castle Floret) *''Relation to Grath: None Update List Segalia Wolf985 Scotty The Dicer Log-a-log Category:Blog posts Category:Fan Fiction